The Tuckers Take Tennessee: Holidays

Showing posts with label Holidays. Show all posts

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Merry Christmas!

12:00 AM |

Posted by Meghan

Merry Christmas from our home to yours!

I'll be taking the next few days off from the blogging world

to enjoy Christmas with my family. I pray you have a safe and blessed Christmas.

"See" ya'll on Monday!

Labels: 2010, Holidays |

0 comments |

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

What Are You Giving For Christmas?

12:00 AM |

Posted by Meghan

So many are asking "What are you getting or wanting for Christmas?" Why don't we ask "What are you giving for Christmas?" The world seems to want, want, want and not put an emphasis on giving. This Christmas season, we are really trying hard to teach our children (especially our 4, almost 5 year old) about the real meaning of Christmas and how important it is to give to others and not just receive.

Are you looking for some last minute gifts {to give}? Here are a few gifts that would really make a difference to someone. There are tons out there but these are just a few of my favorites...

Donations to Happy Brown House
& their adoption from Ethiopia

Sponsor a Child in Jesus Name with Compassion

Labels: 2010, adoption, faith, Holidays |

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Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Giveaway: Tommy Nelson Books -Christmas Angels

2:29 PM |

Posted by Meghan

Another wonderful book to add to your collection. Brought to you by Tommy Nelson Kids, Christmas Angels (Read & Share) is a must read for you and your children during the Christmas season.

We receied this book and immediately had to hop on the couch, snuggle up under a blanket and open the book. My 4 year old loved the illustrations. He even said “Mom, this has one of the better illustrations I’ve seen”. Yes, we read lots of books so he is exposed to lots of great illustrations. He also loved the part in the middle which had a pop-up section of the nativity scene. This is the first year J has really understood the real reason of Christmas and this book definitely helped with that!

Read a little more about this book from the publishers:

“This beautiful Christmas picture book is part of the Read & Share ™ brand. It has a delightful center-spread pop-up of the nativity manger scene. Art is by Steve Smallman, who illustrated the Read and Share ™ Bible. One of the unique features of this book – a very new slant on a very old story – is that it shows the coming and going of angels connected with the birth of Christ. Readers will see that angels brought a new message for ordinary people caught up in this wonderful drama of the birth of God’s son.”

So, now you have a chance to win this book. This giveaway will last from 12/15/10 until 12/16/10 at 9pm CST. The winner will be announced on this website after 9pm CST on the 16^th. I then will email the winner with the details on how to pick up their book. This is a quick giveaway in hopes you have it by Christmas.

REQUIRED ENTRY:

Who is your favorite character in the Christmas story?

EXTRA ENTRIES:

1. Tweet about this giveaway using:
“Read & Share Christmas Angels book #giveaway with

@tommynelson and @meghantucker – Ends 12/16 @ 9pm CST”

2. Follow my blog via Google Friend Connect (located at the bottom)

Labels: 2010, giveaways, Holidays |

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Monday, November 29, 2010

Review: Celebrating The Season - An Advent Study

2:30 PM |

Posted by Meghan

I LOVE December for many reasons. There is something in the air, literally that just makes it one of my favorite months. All the shopping, festive lights, trees, carols, baking cookies for Santa, it’s all just so much fun!

That said, sometimes it’s easy to overlook the real meaning of the “season”. It is important to our family to remember why we celebrate this holiday and to teach our children just that. It’s not about how many Christmas parties we can go to, or how many gifts we receive, it’s about the greatest gift of all, Jesus!

My friend Maggie Bokros has written an e-Book called “Celebrating The Season: An Advent Study”. I am amazed by the amount of content and ideas this e-Book has in it. You can tell she’s put a lot of hard work, prayer, and thought into creating this and it definitely shows!

Some have no idea what Advent is. What is Advent? As Maggie puts it: “Advent means “coming” or “arrival”. The purpose of the season is to celebrate the birth of Jesus and the anticipation of his return. For individuals this season can be a symbol of their own personal spiritual journey in acknowledging that Jesus Christ did come, He’s present in the world today, and He will come again. The season of Advent is a season of preparation, marked by prayer, as we await the redeeming light of our Savior.”

She refers to a Jesse Tree in this e-Book and again, many aren’t aware of what that is. Again, Maggie easily explains that a Jesse Tree is named from Isaiah 11:1: "A shoot will spring forth from the stump of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots." It is a vehicle to tell the Story of God in the Old Testament, and to connect the Advent Season with the faithfulness of God across 4,000 years of history. The Branch is a biblical sign of newness out of discouragement, which became a way to talk about the expected Messiah (for example, Jeremiah 23:5). It is therefore an appropriate symbol of Jesus the Christ, who is the revelation of the grace and faithfulness of God. “

The e-Book is broken down into age groups. So, if you have young children or older children, it has something for everyone – even parents! I don’t’ want to give away what is included in this e-Book but it’s everything you could possibly need to help guide your family through the REAL meaning of this season.

We will be going through this study together as a family beginning on December 1^st. There will be a few days that we are away from our children in December so we’ll either get a head of the days or catch up once we return, but we will have our last lesson be on the 25^th no matter what.

You can purchase this e-Book on Maggie’s site by clicking here. Stop by again and check out our updates from “Celebrating The Season” and how we’re teaching our children (and we as parents are learning too!) about the true meaning of Christmas.

Labels: 2010, advent, Holidays, reviews |

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Thursday, November 25, 2010

Happy Thanksgiving!

12:00 AM |

Posted by Meghan

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today I'm giving thanks for...

-my family & friends

-my Lord & Savior, Jesus Christ

-good health

-the ability to stay home with my children

-the soldiers who are fighting for each of us

-my husband who is simply amazing

-all my readers who are so encouraging

"Let us remember that, as much has been given us, much will be expected from us, and that true homage comes from the heart as well as from the lips, and shows itself in deeds."

~Theodore Roosevelt

Labels: 2010, Holidays |

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Thursday, November 18, 2010

One Week From Today....

12:00 AM |

Posted by Meghan

We'll be celebrating Thanksgiving. I know many of us are preparing our menu's for that special day, getting our table arrangements made and ready to be presented, counting the guest list, cleaning the house, and getting ready for all the festivities. I'm so looking forward to hosting Thanksgiving at our home this year. This will be the first time we've ever hosted for the entire family and it's our first Thanksgiving in our new home (We moved in 2 months ago). There will be over 20 people here and I'm so anxious to spend the day with family.

This year we have had so many wonderful things happen to us. We have been blessed unconditionally. Ive been talking to my 4 year old about what it means to be blessed and it's so sweet to hear what he is thankful for and how he's blessed. We've also been explaining that it's even more fun and such a great feeling to bless someone else. So, how are you teaching your children to bless others? How have they blessed someone else? I'm anxious to hear all the responses as I know there are going to be great stories and ideas you will share with me.

So, on that note....Happy Thanksgiving!

Labels: 2010, Holidays, homeschool |

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Sunday, October 17, 2010

Pumpkin Cranberry Muffins

12:00 AM |

Posted by Meghan

These are DELISH! Absolute favorite from Kraft recipes!

*Ingredients*

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

1 cup sweetened dried cranberries

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Coarse sugar, if desired.

*Directions*

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Grease 12 regular- size muffin cups with shortening, or line with paper baking cups.

2. In large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger and salt. Stir in pumpkin, oil, eggs, cranberries, and pecans just until moistened. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups. Sprinkle coarse sugar evenly over batter in each cup.

3. Bake 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove muffins from pan to cooling rack. Serve warm.

{photo credits}

Labels: 2010, Breakfast, Holidays, homemaking, recipes |

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Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Happy Birthday, Mom!

11:32 PM |

Posted by Meghan

Tonight we celebrated my mom's birthday! What a special person she is!

Nothing better than 'Buca To Go' and fun times with the fam....

Labels: 2009, Holidays, photography |

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Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Advent Day 5: Gingerbread Man Painting

1:58 PM |

Posted by Meghan

Such an easy and fun activity!

1. Print out a gingerbread man printable from online.

2. Color, paint, use sponges to paint, add glitter, decorate it how you want.

3. Cut out the print and place it on construction paper or card stock.

Labels: 2009, advent, crafts, Holidays |

0 comments |

Sunday, July 5, 2009

4th Of July Festivities

10:49 PM |

Posted by Meghan

What a day. I do not remember a 4th of July being so crazy. With random monsoon rains, and tornado sirens, and wondering if the fireworks were going to happen or not, to normally family chaos on what our plan is, it turned out great, thanks to Joe! He suggested at 9:00pm that we pack everyone up into the car (Knox already was asleep for the night) and go see if they were having fireworks still due to the rain. As soon as we pulled up, the fireworks started. We had a great view from our car and great memories were made...even with the windshield wipers going strong. :) Here are a few pictures from our day.

He went down this slide two times before the tornado sirens went off and we had to head home. We had only been there 10 minutes. Yes, it was hard to explain to him

why we had to leave. Poor thing.

Yes, that is him in the middle of the road, in the middle of the parade picking up candy :)

He loved the parade!

Very into it as you can see...

Jackson being silly, Knox tired from the craziness of the day, and me definitely wanting a picture of us being festive in our red white and blue. :)

The happy boys...(Check out Knox's cheeks. Can you tell he loves squash?)

Labels: 2009, Holidays, the boys |

1 comments |

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Happy Easter!

7:24 PM |

Posted by Meghan

Jackson sure enjoyed the Easter Bunny and all that he brought him this year. He kept telling us that the Easter Bunny was going to "Hop Hop Hopity into his home". :)

Here are a few pictures from our day today...